Nap your way to health

Every time I go to HK I'm always disturbed about something, this time I understood what it was.  The whole city is sleep deprived, to include myself when I am in it.  How do people survive with out sleep? Not very well.  I see quite a bit of issues with people's health because they do not sleep properly.  It amazes me because ordinarily when I am in SF I sleep a perfect 8hrs a night between 1030 and 630.  In HK most people find that sleep schedule insane.  HK action packed with events and things to do.  The city doesn't really stop till about 12am, and even then that is just a toned down version.

Really in health there is no substitute for sleep, especially during the hours of 10-6.  Between 10pm-2am is when your bodies physical system recovers itself and between 2 and 6 is the psychological system.  This is why people who have long periods of poor sleep patterns often see things such as Bi-polar disorder, depression, or other psychological issues.  In the short term when a person doesn't sleep their 8hrs of sleep, weight gain is often the side affect.  In the long term it can be anything from more weight gain, to weight loss, it all pends on how a person's body functions on health.

I get plenty of people telling me that it is impossible for them to sleep 8 hrs a day and even more impossible, to sleep between 10pm-6am.  Naps are really the alternative solution.  You know those little breaks that they made you do in kindergarten that we all hated.  But when I talk about naps I talk about power naps.  The difference between a nap and a power nap is the duration of the nap.  It is very important to make sure that one's naps are about 15-20min long.  Usually a nap that is any longer will stimulate the release of melatonin.  Melatonin known as your "sleepy hormone," when you feel groggy when you wake up that is because there is too much melatonin in your blood.  If you feel groggy after your nap, try to take a shorter nap.

It is said that these little 15-20 min naps can be equivalent to 2hrs of sleep.  But, lets not forget the golden rule that there is nothing to truly substitute for 8hrs of good wholesome sleep.  The 15-20 min power nap is great if 8 hrs is impossible, or your sleep was interrupted.

Why are people not doing this? (I've generated a couple of excuses for you)

I'm oblivious about naps and how good they are for a person.

I think naps are socially unacceptable

I'm not a "good napper."

I don't have time

For those that were oblivious, congradulations you have just been Nap Elightened!

If you think naps are socially unacceptable I would really highly suggest you grow up and do what's right for you body.  Obviously there are some huge underlying issues if society dictates what you are doing with your time.

Okay, the not good napper excuse is one that I have herd many a time.  Naps sometimes really take work, and if you don't work at it you can't be good at it.  If you are a "poor napper" chances are your body really needs a nap, it has a hard time deregulating the amount of cortisol that is produced.  This is not so good, and you will literally have to work on taking a nap.  In the end I promise it will be worth it.  Obviously there is another solution, get 8 hours of sleep.

If you don't have 15-20 min to recharge your batteries and distress your body you are lying to yourself.  There is no way anyone cannot contribute 15-20 min to their day.  It will make you more efficient and affective, keep you healthy, and add years to your life.  But hey, if you don't have time to make this free and easy health consideration, you might not have enough time to live.

Next time you are in sleep rut, try and take a nap, it might just save you from your body crashing in the long term.  I know that naps were what saved me on my recent trip to HK, because there was no way I was able to get 8hrs a night.

Be Well,

H